The Gotham Group Signs Rising Filmmaker C. Craig Patterson In Competitive Situation

EXCLUSIVE: The Gotham Group has won out in a competitive situation to sign rising screenwriter and filmmaker C. Craig Patterson after being in the mix with a number of top firms, Deadline can exclusively reveal.

Described as a highly versatile talent who will be active across both live-action and animation, Patterson most recently made the short Fathead in partnership with Amazon and Epic Games’ UnReal Engine. The film, which he wrote and directed, was this year nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Film (Live Action), also winning the Cannes Film Festival Best Student Short Award after premiering in the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase, and coming in as a finalist for the American Black Film Festival’s HBO Short Film Award.

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Said The Gotham Group President & CEO Ellen Goldsmith-Vein of Patterson’s introduction to the company, “We could not be more excited about c. Craig. He is a truly extraordinary talent, a Renaissance man and a singular artist. It’s an honor to have him as a member of the Gotham family.”

An alum of Columbia University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Patterson currently has projects in development with Paramount, Epic Games and at least two other major entities that for now remain under wraps. The creative hailing from New Orleans’ 7th Ward previously directed the critically acclaimed Roy Wood Jr. comedy special Imperfect Messenger for Paramount+ and has also produced projects for Carnegie Hall.

Patterson’s scripts have been included in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, The Black List, The Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship, the Cannes Screenplay Contest, and the Hillman Grad Rising Voices Initiative. In addition to Cannes, his shorts have screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival. Up next for the multi-hyphenate is a search for the right agent, which is said to have him meeting with all the majors.

Patterson continues to be represented by attorney Farhad Amid of McKuin Frankel Whitehead.

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